TechRepublic: Gartner: IBM’s S/390 server joins the Linux revolution

“Advocates might argue that the attractions of S/390 as a Linux
platform are the S/390’s strengths, such as manageability,
availability, and security. To get the full benefits of S/390
systems management, however, the system management vendors must
also support those initiatives, and Computer Associates
International and Tivoli Systems are just in their initial stages
of porting their tools. Linux has no workload management
capabilities. What vendor is going to step up and get that into the
kernel? The types of applications that should be considered include
consolidation of large-scale server “farms,” or those applications
that can exploit the mission-critical aspects of the
mainframe.”

“When should a user consider running Linux on S/390? Even IBM
admits that there are only a couple of situations where it might
make sense right now–situations where the Linux application can
take advantage of the proximity of the high-powered
data/transaction server and the memory bandwidth connection. We
expect there could be some use of S/390 as a consolidation platform
for “grass roots” applications being turned over to the data center
to take advantage of the management skills needed for maturing
applications; however, organizations should recognize that running
Linux on the S/390’s bare iron means that the application will get
the benefits of the S/390 hardware but not the OS/390
disciplines.”

“Users considering using the S/390 platform as the host for
Linux-based applications should take a cautious approach…
IBM may view Linux as potentially a disruptive “sea change”
technology, but “potentially” is the operative word–how sincere
IBM’s commitment will be will be driven by the overall success of
Linux. Even so, most of IBM’s Linux focus will be on other IBM
server platforms and appliances. Leading-edge users with excess
S/390 capacity may want to pilot applications with a quick return
on investment, but they need to be wary of the paucity of system
management tools. IBM may want the S/390 to be associated with
Linux, but until the Linux application vendors start clamoring for
S/390 support, we urge that the buyer beware.”

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